When Chevy Went to War

General Motors and all of its divisions, including Chevrolet, played a major role in the defense of America during World War II. The story of the company’s involvement in building the “Arsenal of Freedom”— the mountain of war materials that assured victory for the Allied Powers — is more amazing when you realize how suddenly war goods production began, how well planned the effort was and how much it contributed to winning the war in such a short span of time.

Chevrolet and other GM divisions never dreamed that they would, one day, be the largest maker of military goods in the world. During World War I, GM was an important manufacturer of aircraft engines for the U.S. Army. However, the corporation’s total WWI military business was only $35 million. That compares to $12 billion of military production just before and during World War II.

Auto production didn’t stop during WWI, noted GM Chairman Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., in his book My Years with General Motors. “It was possible to regard our (WWI) military work as a kind of temporary sideline,” wrote the man who was chairman of the board at GM from 1937 to 1956. After WWI, military contracts dried up quickly and GM got very little military business for about 10 years. Then, in the short time between early 1941 and late 1945, things changed dramatically.

Passenger car production in the United States ground to a halt. From February 1942 until September 1945, GM did not build a single passenger car in the U.S. GM plants were converted to the manufacture of military vehicles, aircraft, war supplies and armaments. More than 113,000 workers, including several key executives, left the corporation to fight in the war. Inexperienced new workers were hired and trained in a very short period of time. Despite this major changeover in the production end of things, the executives who remained in charge also had to deal with a shrinking dealer organization that had no cars to sell and that was also seeing its members going off to war.

With all the issues at hand, it’s amazing that GM didn’t just fall apart at the seams. Instead, the world’s largest automobile manufacturer very successfully became the world’s largest producer of war materials. According to Sloan, $12 billion of goods produced during the war; $8 billion came from entirely new products that GM workers had never made before.

In 1941, before war broke out, GM had record output of $2.4 billion building cars. Two months after war started, it had received military contracts worth $2 billion and by the end of 1942 that figure was up to $8 billion. To deal with such a big bump in production of all-new products with fewer trained executives and many new workers was nothing short of a man-made miracle.

Luckily, GM’s Policy Committee had started planning for the war in 1940. The committee calculated GM facilities could make 10 percent of what the government would need to fight a war. As it turned out, the government spent $150 billion on the war and GM’s actual percentage was about 8 percent. In early planning, the corporation picked three people to handle wartime operations and later, in 1942, it set up a War Administration Committee to take care of those responsibilities.

The committee decided to stick with a decentralized divisional structure so that each branch, such as Chevrolet, could handle contracts, pricing and production. Divisions contracted work to each other, so that parts for a Chevrolet truck could have been made in a Pontiac plant. Some GM plants were even leased to other companies that were better suited to make certain military goods.

GM hired far more people than the number that left to fight. Corporation wide, the numbers were 244,000 new hires in 1942, 332,000 in 1943 and 156,000 in 1944. Most were unskilled workers; many were women who had never worked out of their homes before and a good number had physical disabilities. New production techniques were developed. In one tank plant, a “carousel” type conveyer was set up so that each worker did only one simple welding operation, instead of a series of difficult ones. Sloan said skilled manpower was in such short supply by 1944 that some jobs were done at GM plants with the most skilled workers, rather than those with the best machinery.

GM management also had to make important decisions about contracts, pricing and profits, and deal with other factors like ongoing military research and development that might call for running production changes if a certain vehicle or part was improved midstream. As far as its business dealings, the company purposely limited its profits on defense work to help the cause and preferred fixed-price contracts that promoted worker efficiency. The productivity of the unskilled workers had to be monitored to improve it as time went by. With more earnings, came substantially higher taxes that had to be planned for, too.

Top management wasn’t stable, either. In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt enlisted William S. Knudsen — who had headed Chevrolet until 1937 — to come to Washington to head the War Production Board. In January 1942, Knudsen became a lieutenant general in the U.S. Army. He is the only civilian to ever join the Army at such a high starting rank. Knudsen served as a War Department consultant and problem solver. He remained in the service until June 1, 1945.

Chevrolet dealers were impacted by the war as well. Sales hummed in 1941, when Americans stocked up on cars in case war broke out. Then, sales ran into a brick wall in early 1942. Before long, cars in inventory had to be sold according to government regulations. Some dealers closed and others signed up to fight or got drafted. Those who remained relied on service work and a trickle of used-car sales to keep their doors open. To prevent panic, GM offered to buy back cars and parts, give dealers who closed preferential treatment to help them re-start following the war and offer special allotments of postwar models (for two years after the war) to those dealers who chose to stay open.

M.E. Coyle was Chevrolet’s general manager as the war clouds rained on America. By 1940, his division was already producing combat vehicles used by the British Army’s famous Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) that later inspired the 1966-1968 TV show “Rat Patrol.” The LRDG was formed in Egypt in 1940 and consisted of British, New Zealand and Rhodesian fighters who battled Germany’s Field Marshal Rommel in the North African desert. Their tan-colored cut-down Chevy VA and WA 1-1/2-ton trucks were fitted with machine guns. Scale models of them have been produced by the Revell model company.

By 1940, Chevrolet was also starting to produce some early U.S. military models of light- and medium-duty trucks in a variety of body styles. Both 4x2 pickups and Carry-All Suburbans were supplied, as well as 1-1/2-ton 4x2 and 4x4 trucks in cargo, tractor, dump, van, auger, maintenance, stake, cargo and bomb service models. Just a single rare military tow truck with a Holmes twin-boom wrecker was also made. Chevy COE trucks that rode on rails were built. In 1940 and Chevy also signed its first military contract to make 75mm shells.

By 1941, Chevrolet had signed a number of contracts with the military to supply Chevrolet staff cars (standard sedans with military markings), small- and medium-duty trucks, shells, parts for anti-aircraft “yak-yak” guns and Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines. America knew that it was going to be drawn into the fighting against the Axis powers that had been taking place in other parts of the world for several years. What wasn’t obvious was the suddenness and size of the involvement that would begin as the year wound towards its end.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese Navy planes — 353 in all — launched a surprise attack on the U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. They damaged or destroyed 16 U.S. ships and 188 aircraft, killed 2,402 men and wounded 1,282 others. The next day Roosevelt called it a “Day of Infamy” and war was soon declared. Chevrolet production lasted only a few weeks after that, during which time many Chevys were made as blackout models with painted trim and other changes. By the end of January, all Chevrolet factories except the Saginaw plant, where spare vehicle parts were made, were fully converted to war production.

Few Chevrolet cars were purchased by the military prior to 1928, but in 1929 the Army began using them and bought a lot of AC International models that were basically stock, except for the addition of oversized 20-inch tires. Some of these were still in service at Army camps in 1941. However, with the outbreak of war, both the Army and Navy purchased as many stockpiled 1942 Chevys as they could get. Most were entry-level Master Deluxe sedans, although a few lucky officers got to ride around in Fleetline Sportmaster models. Many military staff cars carried small blackout lights on the front fender tops and the grilles and body moldings were painted Olive Drab for Army use and gray for Navy use.

These cars showed up stateside and overseas, but Chevrolet also manufactured the 1940 WA 1-1/2-ton field ambulance that was intended only for stateside use. It had the same 216.5-cid 90-hp “stovebolt” six as the cars, although it weighed 5,485 lbs. The field ambulances were based on civilian panel trucks and had a modified rear bumper with a fold-down step in the center. Inside were wooden bench seats for up to eight patients and jump seats for two attendants. Various government agencies used the 462 ambulances built. Later, some of the stockpiled 1941 and 1942 Chevys were also converted into 1-1/2-ton field ambulances, also for stateside use. These had four-speed gearboxes, special smooth riding springs and extra patient compartment windows and vents.

Chevrolet Series AK 1/2-ton pickups, panel trucks, Suburban Carry-Alls and canopy express trucks with a variety of modifications saw military use during World War II, as did BN Series 1-ton versions of the pickup, panel and canopy express. Many pickups were fitted with “covered wagon” style canvas canopies, as well as heavy bumpers, blackout lights and painted brightwork. It was not unusual to see the front fenders of trucks cut back for larger military style tires.

During 1943, the Army held a competition for the design of an extra-light-weight 1/4-ton “mini-Jeep.” Chevrolet competed with Ford, Willys, Crosely and Kaiser and came up with a 1,040-lb. vehicle powered by a 45.44-cid 20.5-hp two-cylinder Indian motorcycle engine. Two experimental examples were built for testing at the Army’s Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. Ultimately, the development of larger aircraft eliminated the need for this type of combat vehicle.

The backbone of the Army’s WWII fighting motor pool was the Chevrolet 1-1/2-ton 4x4 truck model G7107. This vehicle was a conversion of the civilian model with military grille, fenders, bumpers, wheels and gear. Chevrolet’s bigger 235-cid stovebolt six “truck” engine supplied 83 hp at 3100 rpm and drove through a four-speed gearbox. A two-speed transfer case was also fitted. These trucks came in 125-, 145- and 175-inch wheelbase versions measuring between 221 and 296 inches in length. Dual rear wheels were used on the single-axle trucks and the long-wheelbase model had double rear axles with dual tandem wheels.

A 9-foot cargo box, made of wood or steel, was that standard military configuration. Five pockets on each side of the bed held stakes or bows for a fabric roof and also supported side racks. On cargo trucks, a canvas canopy was used with a canvas end curtain enclosure. A civilian cab with minor modifications was combined with the military style front end sheet metal. The bumper carried printle hooks and a heavy brush guard protected the radiator grille. Some trucks carried winches at the top center of the front bumper. The trucks had a top speed of 48 mph and a cruising range of 270 miles on 30 gallons of fuel.

The Chevy 1-1/2-ton truck was adaptable to many configurations and purposes. There were 11 official version and who knows how many in-the-field custom jobs. The G7117 was the G7107 with a Garwood or Heil 10,000-lb. PTO driven winch. Next came the G7113, a cab-and-chassis with a fifth wheel for hauling military semi-trailers. The Army needed dump trucks, so the GT106 model had a hydraulic dump body. The hoists were built by Perfection, Heil or Hercules. Naturally, the dump with a big winch was the G7116. G7105 was a van body version and G7163 was a telephone truck with boring equipment to erect phone poles. If you had field phones, you needed to maintain them and the G7173 was for that job. The G7123 was the COE (cab-over-engine) Chevy 1-1/2-tonner. This power train placement allowed a longer 16-ft. stake body with racks. When the COE was stretched to a 175-inch wheelbase it became the G7127.

The last version was the M6 bomb service truck and was more distinctive. It had a very short 125-inch wheelbase and a Jeep-like open body and didn’t always require dual rear wheels, although they were available. A 4,000-lb. winch and hand-operated hoist were used for loading and unloading the bomb trailers the M6 towed. There was no roof over the cab, except for a small canvas top. Driver and passenger bucket seats were up front and three seats were in the rear. Electric trailer brakes were standard equipment. For a military truck, the M6 was low so that it could go underneath the wings of bombers.

Chevrolet built 86,771 of the G7107 cargo trucks, 26,108 of the G7117, an unknown number of G7113 tractors, 5,098 of the G7106 dumps and 9,297 of the G7116 version, 3,632 of the G7105 vans, 1,719 of the G7163 auger trucks, 4,328 of the G7173 maintenance trucks, 581 COE G7123 stakes, 391 of the long-wheelbase G7127 COE cargo trucks and 7,857 M6 bomb service trucks.

Staghound T17E1 and T17E2 four-wheel armored cars were another of Chevrolet’s contributions to the war effort. These were small tank-like wheeled units made for scouting the enemy or protecting supply convoys. The T17E1 carried a 37-mm main gun and a .30-caliber machine gun in the turret, as well as a .30-caliber machine gun in its welded-steel hull. It was not approved for use by U.S. forces, but 2,844 were built for British forces between 1941 and 1943. Chevy also made 100 of a T17E2 model with twin .50-caliber anti-aircraft guns.

The Brits also had success with a “bulldoggish-looking” British-built Chevy-based truck called the C15A, while GM of Canada built a similar driver-forward 4x4 utility vehicle known as the C8. These were used by British, Canadian and Australian combat troops, as well as by Mounties. They served as personnel carriers, radio transporters, ambulances and field offices.

There’s no doubt that Chevrolet and its dealers had a big hand in achieving the Allied victory in WWII. So, the next time you walk past your local Chevy dealership, be sure to raise a salute to the American flag flying outside.

*References: Information from 75 Years of Chevrolet by George H. Dammann, Crestline Publishing (1986) and U.S. Military Wheeled Vehicles by Fred W. Crismon, Crestline Publishing (1983) used with the permission of George H. Dammann. Information from the Standard Catalog of U.S. Military Vehicles 1940-1965, by Thomas Berndt, Krause Publications (1993).